01 October 2011

Opening Day 2: Slide Box

Its opening day! This is the second box in my voyage of discovery through boxes of memorabilia rescued from attics and closets. I didn't realize there were this many different types of slides! These are the first slides I've run across so I need to decide how I'm going to catalog, digitize and archive them.

I've tried to scan slides before with less than ideal results. Digital image processing services? These might be an excellent option for handling the slides. Digital image processing centers take the photographic materials you send (or hand deliver) and scan them for you. The originals are returned along with a digital copy of your photographs or slides. Different processing centers handle different media (slides, photographs, etc.) and offer different options for the size of the digital image. Images might be mailed to you on DVDs or hard drives or put online.

Slides have many of the same archival storage requirements as photographs – about 70 degrees (cooler is better) and 30 percent relative humidity. They can be safely stored in carousels, polypropylene sleeves or slide boxes. All storage materials should be photo-safe. I’ve elected to store my slides in boxes since they will take less room, do not require upright storage like a binder and have passed the Photo Activity Test.

I'm left with two questions to explore further - slide sizes and digital imaging services. If you've ever used a digital imaging service, I'd love to learn about your experiences! Know of a great resource on the history of slides that include their sizes? Pass it along!

mine dates back to 2006, so, it's not the most recent model, but it's an Epson Stylus RX620. I must say I am satisfied, whatever i put in there.Just make sure you program the settings for optimum results. It made a difference for me when I tried printing stuff in the beginning...:)~HUGZ

Thanks for all the tips here and also all the private emails. The overwhelming response is that good scanning results are possible even with a conventional flat-bed with slide adapter. I'll have to play with the settings. Which way to go will likely be a time vs. money decision in the end.